Vampire Deer

Although not likely to be seen in Covington Georgia, but maybe? I mean they are taping the Vampire Diaries t.v show for the CW network. There really are vampire deer in this world. They can be seen in China as the Chinese water deer.

Last year, according to an article in Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine, someone brought a deer with fangs in to a local taxidermist in Wisconsin. It is believed to be unusual but not unheard of to have a deer with fangs in North America. The "fangs" are actually maxillary canine teeth and seems to be a throwback to prehistoric times. The fangs were used to stab prediators or their prey in addition to their antlers. The article goes on to point out that this phenomenon is more prevelant than most think. The "fangs" just can not be seen on live deer that often since they rarely protrude past the gumline. Now I have something to look for when I'm in the woods this fall!

A relaxing week!

Paul and I have been in the woods for the past week. It was a very relaxing trip. It still looks like summer out there with all of the leaves still on the trees. We both had a successful week as far as hunting. Paul harvested a nice 10 point buck and I harvested a 5 point buck. Mine looked puny next to Paul's but I was proud.

Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the woods looking for another big buck. I didn't see any deer but I was able to watch the woods. I saw a racoon climb a tree. It climbed about 25 feet up the tree and perched itself on a tree limb. It was interesting watching the racoon. It placed its legs on either side of the tree limb and just hung there. It's tail it used to balance on the limb. It ate many leaves off the tree limb above it. I had never seen that behavior before.

The picture above is of me and my second buck ever. The house in the background was constructed before 1865. (Yes, I said 1865). The guys have been staying in the house during hunting season for the last 30 years or so. I have heard stories of snakes in the house and other creatures.

The best story, is our friend Mike had killed a deer one day and didn't want to leave it outside. (For some reason he didn't take it to the cooler.) He drug it into the house and into his bedroom that he shared with our other friend Scott. Mike didn't want to leave it on the floor and he didn't have anything to put it on. So what did he do? He placed in on Scott's blanket in Scott's bed!! Of course Scott slept in the lower bunk so it was a little easier to get to... It has been over 12 years ago and I still occasionally hear them rib each other about the buck in the bed story.

Best Surprise

Paul and I were sitting down to dinner on Monday night. As we were beginning to eat Paul said "Hey look at the buck out there!" I said, "Yea right." You see we have two buck deer targets outside in our backyard. I was sure that he was pulling my leg. That wasn't the case! Out in our backyard was a six point buck. It was a pretty good size. It began to browse around the yard and then a few minutes later a second buck appeared. It was also a nice six point buck. This is a first for us. We have lived here twelve years and have never seen a buck in the backyard. I can't wait to experience the next visit of our two boys.

Flight of the Bumble bee

Image via WikipediaOver the weekend I picked our garden. We had green beans, tomatoes, yellow squash, green bell peppers and hot peppers. For the first time in over twelve years I saw bumble bees in the garden. I wonder if it is because we put the squash inside the fence. If you are new to my blog, I live on six acres in Covington Georgia. We have deer who regularly come to our back yard. After our first year of gardening we had to erect a eight foot fence around the entire garden to keep the deer from eating the fruits of our labors. We had kept the squash and tomatoes out for the last 10 years since the deer had never been interested in them. Last year they ate the squash.

I saw at least 10 bees and I am excited not only is our yield up this year but it speaks well in Covington that the bees are back. There have been a lot of disease and other factors that have been depleting the bee population in Georgia. Getting back to the deer, Paul has had to put a fence around the upside down tomatoes. The deer have been steadily eating the tomato bushes. If they don't watch out they will be food for someone else....

Let me introduce you to our new pet

I was going to post about something else but, our new pet showed up. We have a doe who has been hanging out in our yard. I thought that she was just coming into the back yard to feast on our lush foilage. Today around 11:30 a.m. I was finishing breakfast after church and grocery shopping. The doe was in the back yard snacking. I went to our sun room just to look around and was I surprised! The doe has decided to lay down under the cool trees in the back yard. I guess we have a new pet!

On another front, our garden is really growing. We ate our first fruits from the garden last night. We ate our first tomato. The beans are about ready to be picked and the first squash was picked on the 4th. I plan to grill out ribs and corn. I also will be cooking squash and onions.

Watch Cat??

Image via WikipediaI posted a few weeks ago about planting our garden. Within a few weeks, the beans, squash and tomatoes will be ready to picked and eaten. The beans, squash and peppers are in the main garden which is surrounded by an nine foot wired fence. The tomatoes, on the other hand, are on our back deck. As the summer continues, Georgia's historic drought continues. The wild animals are starting to feel the consequences. A couple days ago, Paul and I found several deer in our back yard. We saw our first buck in several years!!

As the deer are also looking for things to eat. They are visiting our property where things are watered as much as possible and able. The tomatoes on our porch are in danger of being eaten!! Last year was the first time that the deer ate the tomatoes. This year since the tomatoes are on the back porch they are probably more endangered.

From the sky, no make that across the grass... comes super cat. Tigger, our oldest cat, has taken to sleeping on the railing next to the tomatoes. It is rather comical to watch the deer approach close to the tomatoes and then spot the cat. The deer will back out and get back to the middle of the yard. I guess we have our new watch cat. Who would have known??

Deer and more Deer

I woke up this morning and I decided to watch some television. As I was watching tv, I looked out the window and saw a brown animal. I got up and saw that it was a big deer wandering around the back yard. It continued walking around the back yard until it got to our white tomatoe buckets. It was eating the weeds that were growing in the buckets.

I went back to watching tv until I noticed the deer acting skittish. I got up and went to the far side of the house to look out the window. I happened to notice that there were eight to ten deer on the side of the house. They ranged from what I think might have been a buck (antlers shed) and several does. Two were yearlings, the others were a little older. Paul and I need to buy some deer chow and start feeding them.

That is the most deer I have observed on our property at any given time. The females are probably pregnant and need nurishment to see the fawns born in the best condition. You can sure see how the change in habitat and the drought is having an impact on the herd. We have also been hearing a lot of activity from the coyotes in the neighborhood. We have been hearing a lot of yipping across the street.